How to Color Chocolate

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Dye your chocolate in the microwave or stove with these simple steps
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Looking to make a colorful chocolate bunny for Easter or a Christmas scene out of chocolate? Perhaps you're attempting bright cake pops for a birthday party. To get the details of your edible treat just right, you may need to color your chocolate.

Ingredients

  • Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, or white chocolate chips
  • Coloring oil or coloring powder
  • Vegetable shortening
  • Access to a microwave or a stove
  • A glass bowl
Part 1
Part 1 of 5:

Gathering Your Ingredients

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  1. Use dark or milk chocolate if you are trying to get a nice jet black color. Otherwise, you will need to use white chocolate to make any other colored chocolate.
    • Choose a white chocolate with a low viscosity, or that appears very thin when you melt it.
    • Tollhouse's White Chocolate Chips are one of the better brands for coloring.
    • Go for chips instead of bars, as the smaller the pieces of chocolate are, the faster they will melt. Candy melts are also a good option.
  2. Never add a water based food coloring to chocolate. It causes the chocolate to seize, or turn lumpy and solid. You want to create colored chocolate that is smooth and easy to work with. So skip the cheap water based colors and go for oil or powder colors.
    • You can buy oil based coloring and powder coloring at markets and online.
    • One good brand is Americolor, which creates strong colors without having to add a lot of oil to the chocolate. [1]
    • If you are trying to create a pale color like light blue or yellow, go for oil based colors as you only have to add very little coloring to the white chocolate to get the color you want. [2]
    • If you are trying to create a more vibrant color, like a bright yellow or a bold red, buy a powder coloring or paste coloring. The more oil you add to the chocolate, the less smooth it will be. So using a small amount of powder coloring or paste coloring should create a vibrant color without adding too much oil to the chocolate.
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  3. Vegetable shortening usually comes in a round plastic tub and is hard in appearance, almost like butter. The shortening will help the chocolate to set properly on your candy or on a cake pop. It will also speed up the melting time of the chocolate.
    • Vegetable oil will only make the chocolate more loose and limp, meaning you will end up with messy chocolate covered candies or limp cake pops.
  4. If you have access to a stovetop, a large metal bowl, and a pot with a handle, you can boil the chocolate on the stove instead of in the microwave. [3]
    • The double boiler method works a bit faster and you have more control over the chocolate as it melts.
  5. Glass conducts heat evenly and quickly, so its the vessel of choice for melting chocolate in the microwave.
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Part 2
Part 2 of 5:

Melting the Chocolate in the Microwave

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  1. When melting the chocolate, its best to melt a small amount at a time. So only use 1-2 cups of chocolate chips to start. [4]
  2. Microwave the chocolate for no more than 30 seconds at a time on medium high heat.
    • You may be tempted to microwave the chocolate for longer than 30 seconds to speed up the process, but don't do this. Any longer than 30 seconds at a time will heat the chocolate up too fast and cause it to become lumpy.
  3. Watermark wikiHow to Color Chocolate
    Right before the chocolate is completely melted, take it out of the microwave and stir it to completely melt it.
    • It's fine if a few of the chips on the sides of the bowl have not completely melted.
  4. Watermark wikiHow to Color Chocolate
    Make sure most of the chocolate is smooth and easy to stir. The chocolate should fall easily off the spoon.
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Part 3
Part 3 of 5:

Melting the Chocolate in a Double Broiler

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  1. Watermark wikiHow to Color Chocolate
    Fill the pot about â…“ of the way with water. Turn the burner to high heat so the water boils. [5]
  2. The water should hover about half an inch below the metal bowl.
    • Once the water boils in the pot, turn off the heat. Then, pour the white chocolate chips into the bowl.
  3. Watermark wikiHow to Color Chocolate
    Use a kitchen towel to hold the hot bowl with one hand. Don't worry if the chips don't seem to melt fast at first. After a few stirs, they should start to melt.
    • You can add a spoonful of vegetable shortening to speed up the process.
  4. You want it to fall off the spoon easily.
  5. Leave the chocolate in the warm bowl as the heat will keep the chocolate smooth and melted.
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Part 4
Part 4 of 5:

Coloring the Chocolate with Powder Colors

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  1. Watermark wikiHow to Color Chocolate
    Sprinkle a dash or two of the powder right into the bowl. [6]
  2. Watermark wikiHow to Color Chocolate
    As you stir, add more or less powder depending on how bright you want the color to be.
    • Remember that the bowl will be hot, so use a kitchen towel to hold it as you stir!
  3. As you stir, the chocolate may begin to harden around the edges of the bowl. You want the chocolate to remain melted so warm up the bowl again as you stir.
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Part 5
Part 5 of 5:

Coloring the Chocolate with Coloring Oils

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  1. Chocolate is very sensitive to temperature changes. So when you add the oil to the chocolate, its important that the oil is the same temperature as the chocolate. This will prevent the chocolate from seizing, or turning lumpy and hard.
  2. Watermark wikiHow to Color Chocolate
    Squeeze the bag to remove as much air as possible from the bag.
  3. The water should be no more than 20 degrees warmer than the chocolate. Shake the bottle every 5 minutes to distribute the heat evenly.
    • It's a good idea to warm your oil up right before you warm up the chocolate, or in between warming up your chocolate. You want to avoid letting the chocolate sit and harden as you warm up the oil.
  4. Make sure you dry it off completely. You don't want to get any water in the chocolate by accident, as this will dilute it!
  5. Watermark wikiHow to Color Chocolate
    With most chocolate oils, a 2 oz. bottle will vibrantly color up to 6 pounds of chocolate. So for a deep, rich color, use about 2 teaspoons for each pound of chocolate. Use less for a lighter color.
  6. If you are planning to make several different colored bowls of chocolate, work one color at a time. This will prevent any mixing of the colors or accidents with the powder or oil.
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Expert Q&A

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  • Question
    Can I use food coloring to make it darker in color?
    Maria Short
    Baker
    Maria Short is a Baker and the Owner of Short N Sweet Bakery & Cafe in Hilo, Hawaii. With over 24 years of experience, she specializes in specialty desserts and wedding cakes. She graduated from L’Academie de Cuisine’s Pastry Arts Program with honors and studied at Baltimore International Culinary College. In 2019, Maria competed in the 6th season of the Food Network’s Holiday Baking Championship. In 2010, she had a cake named one of “America’s Most Beautiful Cakes” by Brides magazine.
    Maria Short
    Baker
    Expert Answer
    You can mix red, blue, and green food coloring to achieve homemade black food coloring. This blend will give a shade of dark grey color that has the potency to deepen the color of your chocolate cake.
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      References

      1. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Na6n6fgDcYw
      2. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fyEpF871Ss
      3. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xztzn1jSCo
      4. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xztzn1jSCo
      5. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xztzn1jSCo
      6. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xztzn1jSCo

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